


• Hospital Detective •

by running_wootah



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No One Direction, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29125440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/running_wootah/pseuds/running_wootah
Summary: Short StoryLondons best detective (Louis) is laid up in the hospital after a car accident during a high speed chase, but that doesn't mean he's off the clock! A string of major jewelry heists are plaguing London. The team that's investigating is doing a shit job, so Louis takes it into his own hands. With the help of a nurse (Niall) that has followed every single one of Louis' cases, and Niall's flatmate (Liam) who's a hacker, can they solve it on their own before the investigative team completely bungles it?(Also available on: Wattpad, Webnovel)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

AN// not me writing this as a short story for English class and just changing the boys names to their middle names 😅

Tires screeching, cars honking, sirens blaring. That's the last thing Louis remembers before everything went black.

The steady beeping of the heart rate monitor echos off the hospital walls. The private room with whitewash walls, smelling strongly of disinfectant. The hallway door slowly swung open and a young, male nurse with dirty blond hair strode into the room. He made his way over to the computer by the bedside and swiped his ID to access it, his shoes squeaking slightly against the polished floor. The nurse began typing something on the computer, pausing for a moment to check Louis' IV. The noise of fast typing continued for 30 more seconds before Louis began the shift around and let out a groan. His breathing started to pick up and he began to panic.

"Hey, hey, just relax," the nurse said in a thick Irish accent as he gently laid a hand on Louis' shoulder.

"Where am I? What happened?" Louis asked quietly, his voice horse.

"You're in the hospital," the nurse answered with a kind smile, "you were in a pretty nasty accident."

"What time is it? I can't miss work" Louis said as he looked around, in search of a clock.

"It's 8:00am on Wednesday March 25th" the nurse, who's name was Niall according to the ID that had been clipped back onto his breast pocket, responded as he glanced down at his watch.

"Oh shoot! I have to go! I'm gonna be late!" Louis cursed under his breath as he tried to make a move to get out of the hospital bed.

"Oh no ya don't," Niall said as he held Louis back, "you're not going anywhere." 

"You've sustained quite a few injuries," Niall explained as he helped Louis to get settled again, "You have broken ribs that had punctured your right lung, a broken arm, a minor concussion, a sprained wrist and ankle, and a few cuts and scrapes here and there."

Louis looked down and noticed the cast that ran from his hand up to just passed his elbow on his left arm. Huh, He must have slammed it into the center console during the crash. His chest doesn't even hurt bad enough for him to have broken ribs. Although the painkillers probably help with that. 

Suddenly the events come rushing back to him. He was speeding after a car with his siren going, when another car came out of nowhere on his right and the two cars collided. Louis' airbag had failed, he remembered his head slamming against the steering wheel and hearing faint shouting just before he fell unconscious. Louis took a shaky breath before speaking again.

"Was the other driver hurt?" He inquired.

"The other driver escaped with minimal injuries," Niall explained, "the impact was on the driver's side of your car so you got the worst of it."

Louis leant his head back against the pillow and sighed in relief. At least no one was seriously injured, he thought. Although he'll have to deal with the consequences for the car that he totalled, Louis internally groaned.

"The car should be the least of your worries, mate" Niall chuckled.

"Did I say that out loud...?" Louis asked.

"Yup" the young nurse replied, popping the 'p', "you know, you're probably the most selfless person I've met. You say that no one was seriously hurt, but here you are, recovering from a bunch of different injuries - which, not to scare you or anything, are gonna to hurt real bad once the painkillers wear off - but one of the first things you asked was if the other person involved was ok!" 

Once Niall had finished his little spiel, I just sat there staring at him. He probably didn't realize what he'd said because he'd gone back to busying himself with different tasks around the room and dealing with machines.

"Umm...thanks, I guess" Louis said, slightly stunned. No one had ever said anything like that to him before.

"Oh and just so you know, they caught the guy you were chasing in the first place" Niall said absentmindedly.

"Wh- how did you know I was after someone?" He asked.

"Well, for one, the chase was on the news. Second, there's only been the one car accident in this area that fits this," Niall said, as he gestured between the screen that must have patient information on it, and Louis.

"Well aren't you quite the detective!" Louis joked.

Niall looked down at the floor sheepishly as his face went a deep red color in a matter of seconds.

"Um, I'm also a fan of yours," he said shyly, "I've followed all your cases so I guess I just notice some things subconsciously."

"Whoa...every case? I mean, that impressive," Louis breathed out, "I've had a lot of cases, that quite a bit to follow..."

"Yeah, but it's so interesting! You're, like, the best detective in the UK!" Niall said enthusiastically.

"This is doing wonders for my ego," Louis grinned, "but I'm not that great"

"Don't sell yourself short" he responded, offering a small smile.

AN// if it says William or James anywhere, it should say Louis or Niall, I just missed it while changing the names


	2. Chapter 2

Louis was flipping through channels on the old TV attached to the wall in front of him. Half the programs were in French, and the ones that were in English were cheesy, teen movies. Louis sighed and put the remote down on the blanket beside him.

"Hey, how are you feeling," Niall asked, as he walked in, "I brought you something to eat since I was just down the hall" he said, placing the tray down on the table.

"I've been better," Louis responded ruefully, "any idea when I can get outta here?" He asked hopefully.

"Not for a little while. We're still waiting for you to regain some strength and for your chest to heal a bit more," Niall answered, causing Louis to grumble.

He went back to going through the TV guide, and managed to find the local news. He clicked 02 on the keypad, and a reporter popped up on the screen.

"There have been a number of robberies reported by Jewelry stores in London and the surrounding area," the reporter said, addressing the store behind him, "law enforcement suspects one person is responsible for these."

"Ugh, another one," Louis groaned, "they've been trying to catch this guy for weeks!"

"Yeah, I know," Niall replied.

"The team investigating keeps letting them get away," Louis hit the mattress in anger, "the times they've gotten there quick enough, he just slips away!"

"I've heard this guy is quite slick," Niall said, "he is quite smart though, you have to adm-"

"He slips right through their fingers!" Louis shouted, cutting off Niall.

"Mate, I'm sure they'll catch em' eventually" Niall comforted, as Louis stared at the reporter who was still on the TV, seething.

"It's been brought to our attention that there been another theft at a store just a block down from here, the police didn't catch the thief, and they have no suspects as of yet," the reporter conveyed, "Back to you, Tim" and then the TV went back to the news anchor. 

Niall took the remote and switched off the TV. Louis took a few deep breaths before he spoke.

"If I wasn't stuck here maybe my boss would put me on the case. Or at least let me do something. Maybe look around the scene. This is pitiful!" Louis started getting worked up again.

All of a sudden Louis' expression changed. He's eyebrows unfurrowed and he turned to face James with a cheeky grin. 

Niall raised his eyebrows questioningly, "what?"

"You said you're good at noticing details and are a fan of detective work, right?" Louis inquired.

"Yeah..." Niall said cautiously.

"How would you feel about doing some poking around for me...?" Louis asked slowly.

"Oh no, I don't think that's a good idea," Niall said frantically.

"Why is that?" Louis replied.

"For one, I'm not discreet enough for that, second, It isn't your case, so if I got caught doing this for you..." Niall frowned.

Louis could tell he was going to cave sooner or later.

"Pleaseee" Louis begged, practically pouting at the boy.

"My shift finishes at three o'clock," Niall muttered, "I'll go to the last shop that was robbed, they're open again"

"Yes!" Louis cheered, "thank you, thank you"

"Yeah yeah" Niall said with a hint of a smile.

There was a slight pause.

"Unfortunately there's no way to get the security cam footage" Louis said to himself.

"Actually there might be..." Niall said, pulling a face like he was thinking.

"What? How?" Louis said in surprise.

"Well...maybe not legally..." Niall muttered.

"What do you have in mind?" Louis asked without hesitation, surprising James.

"I-I wouldn't have thought you'd consider breaking the law," Niall replied, "ya know, with you being a detective, and all..."

"If I was able to go to work I would have found a way to get it out of someone," Louis shrugged, "and it's fun to rebel once in a while."

"Oh, well, my flatmate, Liam, is a whiz with computers," Niall stated.

"Thats cool, but I don't think he'd be able to get into the police database," Louis said sceptically.

"Oh trust me, he can," Niall said confidently, "he's gotten a few of our friends out of speeding tickets. He also hacked into my account here at the hospital, and made it so when I signed in it's showed a picture of the girl from The Ring," Niall chuckled, "I screamed and almost pissed myself in front of a patient!"

"Genius!" Louis laughed.

"Alright, my shift ends in-" Niall checks his watch, "-an hour. I'll go to the store first, before it closes, and then I'll talk to Liam."

"Sounds good," Louis agreed.

"I should probably get back to my job," Niall said as he stood up from the chair he'd situated himself in, "I'll tell you if anything was out of the ordinary."

"Alright, see ya," Louis waved as Niall made his way out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Niall stood outside the Jewelry store, his hand shaking slightly. He didn't know why he felt so nervous. He could just pretend to browse around the store. After 30 seconds of debating with himself, he walked towards the door. It would probably look more suspicious if he stood there, staring through the window. 

The bell chimed as he entered the shop. Nothing on the door looked off. The lock had no scratches on it as it shone in the sunlight. He stepped further away from the door as he took in his surroundings. 

It had a high, vaulted ceiling, with ornate chandeliers hanging lower down, letting off a soft light. The walls were a cream color and there were Chestnut beams dotted around to help hold up the ceiling. The display cases lined the walls. Everything was in pristine condition, not a thing out of place. Niall was surprised by how big the store actually was, compared to the front of the establishment, that made it look small and quaint. 

"Can I help you find anything, sir?" An employee inquired.

"Just browsing, thanks," Niall said with a tight-lipped smile.

The employee, who's name tag said Caroline, sent him a small smile and walked off to help other customers.

Well dressed people milled about. Making small talk with each other about meaningless topics. Niall took a deep breath before he started walking around the store. Is there anything the police missed? How did the thief get in and out if he didnt break the lock? Did he already have a key? 

Then he focused his attention to the walls. It didn't look like there were any major scuff marks. There were air vents, about seven feet up the wall, every 15 feet or so. 

"Check the screws," Niall muttered under his breath, as he remembered watching a documentary where the criminal escaped through the vests.

He slowly made his way along the store, studying each vent cover carefully. All the screws were in their proper place so far, and Niall was starting to lose hope. He'd checked all the vents, all the way to the back of the store, and nothing was missing. Scratch that idea, Niall thought. 

A very disgruntled Niall walked to the front of the store again, not liking that he'd have to disappoint William. As he moved to grab the door handle, he glanced over his shoulder and noticed a vent hidden in the corner of the room that he hadn't noticed before. He walked closer to the vent, keeping his eyes on it the whole time. 

Once he was close enough to see the details of it, he noticed slight black marks dragging down the wall, all the way from the vent to halfway to the floor. As if someone had put their shoes against the wall. Niall quickly looked around him to see if anyone was watching before slipping behind the jewelry case to examine the vent. There should have been four screws. One on each corner. 

Niall had to stifle a shout, because upon further inspection, he noticed two screws missing and the cover was slightly off center. He quickly got down on the floor, looking around for the missing screws. He felt around in the shadows until he found them, rolled under the overlap of the case.

Checking around him again, he stood up and quickly exited the shop. Pocketing the screws as he walked. Niall flagged down a cab, giving the cabbie his address, and heading home.

15 minutes later they pulled up in front of Niall' apartment building. He paid the driver and jogged up the stairs to the front door, talking them by two. Feeling too fidgety to wait for the elevator, Niall took the stairs all the way up to his home on the 8th floor. Once he stood in front of his and Liam's door, he took a minute to catch his breath. He had started to pat down his pockets before remembering he'd lost his key a week ago and they haven't gotten a new one made. He bent down and took a spare key out from under the doormat. If Liam knew Niall put that key there, he'd have his head for putting it in such an obvious place. 

"I need your help," Niall said, placing his hands on the table in front of him. Still slightly out of breath from his trip up the stairs.

"Hello to you too," Liam replied, not even glancing up from his computer screen.

"Yes, hello, but please, this is urgent!" Niall whined.

Liam sighed and peeled his eyes away from the computer to stare at Niall. Niall stared right back at him. After a 45 second staring contest, Liam gave in.

"Fine," he muttered, causing Niall to grin, "what do you need?"

"Could you get security camera footage for me?" Niall asked innocently.

"Are you insane?" Liam asked, "why one earth do you need that sort of thing?"

"Well you see, one of my patients at the hospital is a detective and he asked me to help him investigate something because he's stuck at the hospital right now, but he needs the footage to see if anything looks out of the ordinary. I mean it's not his case -that's why I need you to hack in and get it- but the team that is investigating it keeps letting the guy get away..." Niall rambled.

"Ok, ok," Liam laughed, "calm down man, I'll try to get it,"

"Yes! Thank you Lima!" Niall yelled, jumping to hug Liam

"No yelling, inside voice," Liam chuckled, releasing his from the hug, "and I told you not to call me Lima!" He called after Niall' retreating figure.

"Whatever!" Niall shouted as he made his way to his room so he can put the screws in a safe place. 

Liam let out a small laugh, shaking his head at his best friend. He's never been able to say no to him. He finished up what he was doing while waiting for Niall to come back to tell him exactly what he was looking for. Two minutes later, Niall sauntered back into the room, now dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt instead of his work scrubs. 

"Alright, so, you know the big bank robberies?" Niall asked. Liam nodded.

"I've seen them on the news, yes." He confirmed.

"Well I need the security footage from the last robbery," Niall said.

"Alright. that shouldn't be too difficult," Liam said as he started tapping away at his computer, "I've gotten into the police system a few times before."

"I know," Niall said like it's nothing, "I told the Detective that too."

"You did what?!" Liam shrieked, "why would you tell him that?! Niall, what I did was illegal!"

"I told him that I had an idea of how to get the camera footage, but that it wouldn't be a way that's legal," Niall explained, "and he didn't have an issue with it. Said he would have gotten it from someone at work by now if he was able to go."

"Then why doesn't he just ask someone from work to get it for him anyway?" Liam questioned.

"Because he's on sick leave right now, he's not allowed to be involved in any cases." Niall replied.

"Still illegal though, Niall" Liam repeated 

"Yes I know, but it's not like we're baddies taking the footage for blackmail. We're getting it for a Detective for goodness sake!" Niall argued.

"Ok ok," Liam put his hands up to surrender, "while you were rambling I already got the footage." He laughed.

"No way. Really?" Niall said in disbelief, "that was fast!"

Liam just smiled as he moved the file over to a flash drive and removed it from the computer.

"Here you go," he said as he handed the USB device over to Niall, "a 15 hour video of a jewelry store."


	4. Chapter 4

Niall barged into the hospital room and slapped the flash drive onto the table beside Louis. Louis raised his eyebrows.

“What’s this?” Louis asked

“Your security camera footage,” Niall said proudly, “you should really update your firewall. It only took Liam, like, three minutes to get in.”

“Dang,” Louis breathed out, “Liam’s good.”

“And here are two screws that were missing from a vent cover,” Niall said as he presented the screws to Louis.

“They would have just been loose and fallen out. Could they not?” Louis asked.

“True,” Niall shrugged, “ but every other vent in the place was in the perfect position with all its screws. You’d think they’d have just replaced them if they’d noticed, so it must have happened recently”

“Ah, good job detective,” Louis smiled.

Laughing at Louis’s comment, Niall pulled out a laptop from his bag and inserted the flash drive. The file immediately popped up, and he clicked on it. The Jewelry store came into view on the screen. The security camera could see from the back all the way to the front of the store. With the display window at the street in view still. 

“Alright 15 hours starts now,” Niall said as he handed off the laptop, “I’ll probably have to leave soon, so you’ll have to watch the rest by yourself.”

“Let’s do this,” Louis said.

Niall was able to be there for the good portion of two hours, only having to leave a few times. By the time his shift finished, there were still five hours left of the tape.

After watching three of the five hours, Niall paused the tape and turned to face Louis.

“It’s on a loop,” Niall said.

“Huh?” Louis asked.

“We’ve been watching the same thing over and over again,” Niall clarified, “you can see the same people passing by the window every hour.”

Louis was stunned, “how on earth did I not notice that…?”

“I mean, one of the reasons you're in the hospital is for a concussion,” Niall said.

“So this guy is smart enough to hack the cameras so they loop their previous footage while he’s in the building,” Louis said to himself.

“Exactly,” Niall laughed to himself, “but not smart enough to make sure the screws stay in the vent.”

“Now we just need to figure out where he’s going to go next and we can call it in as anonymous tip,” Louis said

Niall took the laptop and pulled up a map of the London area the robberies had been taking place in.

“Ok so, the last few robberies happened here, here, and here,” Niall said as he pointed to four different places on the map, “all within a block of each other.

“So if this one happened here…” Louis said, pointing to where the most recent robbery was, 

“...then that means there’s only one store left in the area.” Niall finished, pointing to the only place left, “here.”

“Ok, we should call it in,” Louis said.

“I got it,” Niall said as he pulled out his phone,   
“Hello . . . Yes, I’d like to report a robbery that will take place at 232 Park Avenue South . . . Yes . . . No . . . Thank you . . . Ok . . . You’re welcome.”

Louis was staring expectantly at Niall the whole time he was on the phone. 

“They said they’d send out a patrol to watch the area and have security put around the building,” Niall beamed, “Oh my gosh this is so cool! It’s like I’m in a cop show,” he signed dreamily.

Louis just laughed at Niall’ antics. 

“You’d make a pretty good detective, you know,” Louis complimented.

Niall finally came back down to Earth and blushed, “thanks!”

“And now we wait and see if we were right,” Niall said nervously.

“There’s no way they can mess this one up,” Louis assured, “all they have to do is watch the entrances/exits of the vents,”

“If the thief followed their usual schedule, the robbery should take place in an hour or so.” Niall surmised.

Niall took a seat in the chair beside Louis and tuned the TV to the news. Both boys sat there for close to 45 minutes before the regular reporter that had been covering the thefts, appeared on screen. 

“There’s just been another robbery in the chain of jewelry thefts that have been plaguing London,” the young, male reporter started, “only this time, authorities received an anonymous tip, and were able to get to the scene before the thief got away. The criminal, who has been identified as Harry Styles, is now in custody.” 

Niall and Louis cheer loudly and hug each other. As they’re jumping up and down in excitement, a nurse pokes her head in and tells them to be quiet.

“Sorry!” Niall whisper-yelled, both boys still quietly laughing in joy. Both turned their attention back to the TV to catch the rest of what the reporter was saying.

“Harry Styles was a suspect in a string of thefts that took place a year ago in Los Angeles, but was let go due to lack of evidence,” the reported said, “after that he flew under the radar until he decided to start stealing from jewelry stores in London’s more wealthy area.” 

A photo of the man in question popped up in the corner of the screen as the reporter was talking. Louis gasped. All his memories from the crash came flooding back again. That man, Harry Styles, was the one whose car had collided with his own. He was the reason Louis was in the hospital.

“Authorities have said the case will go to court in the next few months,” the reporter said before the news switched to coverage of the bike races happening over in France. 

“He was the guy that hit me,” Louis turned to Niall, “he caused my accident.”

“Whoa,” Niall said shocked, “that’s a plot Styles”

“Yeah,” Louis breathed 

“At least he got what was coming to him though!” Niall said, back to his cheerful self, “they got him!”

”No mate, we got him”


	5. Chapter 5 • Bonus

Harry’s POV after his second to last robbery:

I almost got caught. If it wasn’t for Caroline giving me the wrong information, cops wouldn’t have gotten there so quickly. I just got out as they were pulling up in front of the building. I’m now speeding down the road, hoping they don’t catch on. 

Just as I’m coming up to an intersection I turned to look behind me to make sure no one was following me. Just as I turn back to the road, cars start honking. I wonder what’s happening? Before I can do anything else, I feel something slam into the passenger side of my car. My ears start ringing and my hearing is all messed up. I carefully got out of the car to see how bad the damage was. 

Once I caught sight of the other car, I grimaced. It’s front end was almost completely smashed in. I walked around my car to get a better angle before I realized… It's a cop car. I crashed in a cop car. This is not good. My first instinct was to run, so I did. 

I knew I had an old friend who lived in the area, so I made a beeline straight for his flat. I ran for five or so minutes before I reached his building. I took the elevator up to give myself time to catch my breath. One the number reached ’8’, the doors dinged open and I casually made my way down the hallway to his door and knocked. 

I heard some scuffling from inside before the doors swung open. 

“Hey man, long time no see,” he greeted me.

“Yeah, good to see you mate,” I replied with a smile.

“What can I do for you?” He asked.

“Ah, well my car broke down and my phone is dead. do you think I could use your phone to call a tow truck and wait here till it gets here?” I lied, still smiling so he wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Sure thing, come on in,” he said, moving to the side to let me in.

“Thanks Liam”


End file.
